Shoes donation program aims to help souls

(John Clark/The Gazette) Maddie Kirlin, right, and Wagner Santiago, DPM, at Gaston Foot & Ankle with some of the shoes that have been donated for the Soles for Souls program that will distribute them to other countries. Gaston Foot & Ankle is one of many drop off locations for donations.

By Wade Allen

Published: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 09:04 AM.

Consider donating unwanted shoes from that spring-cleaning pile instead of tossing them in the trash.

Volunteers are collecting footwear of all types, including high heels, sneakers and sandals for impoverished residents of foreign countries that have suffered natural disasters.

Maddie Kirlin with Gaston Foot and Ankle Associates in Gastonia is gathering shoes to benefit Soles4Souls, a Tennessee-based nonprofit aimed at supporting small businesses to help end poverty.

Gently-used shoes are preferable but pairs in all conditions are accepted because Soles4Souls will repair them before distribution. Shoes are sorted by condition, style and size at an outreach center in Iowa.

Soles4Souls began in 2004 and has given away more than 19 million pairs of shoes in 127 counties. Past ventures include donations to Haiti, India, Tanzania, Honduras, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Peru.

Kirlin wants to keep tabs on the donations collected in Gaston County and find out where they end up. She’s already collected 100 pairs and is determined to amass more.

The effort culminates at the Schiele Museum’s Earth Day event April 27. Kirlin plans to have a booth to accept donations.

Consider donating unwanted shoes from that spring-cleaning pile instead of tossing them in the trash.

Volunteers are collecting footwear of all types, including high heels, sneakers and sandals for impoverished residents of foreign countries that have suffered natural disasters.

Maddie Kirlin with Gaston Foot and Ankle Associates in Gastonia is gathering shoes to benefit Soles4Souls, a Tennessee-based nonprofit aimed at supporting small businesses to help end poverty.

Gently-used shoes are preferable but pairs in all conditions are accepted because Soles4Souls will repair them before distribution. Shoes are sorted by condition, style and size at an outreach center in Iowa.

Soles4Souls began in 2004 and has given away more than 19 million pairs of shoes in 127 counties. Past ventures include donations to Haiti, India, Tanzania, Honduras, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Peru.

Kirlin wants to keep tabs on the donations collected in Gaston County and find out where they end up. She’s already collected 100 pairs and is determined to amass more.

The effort culminates at the Schiele Museum’s Earth Day event April 27. Kirlin plans to have a booth to accept donations.

For now, local recycling centers and the Gaston Foot and Ankle office are accepting the donated footwear.

“I look at a pair of shoes and say ‘Gosh, I’m never going to wear these ever again’ but I keep them,” Kirlin said. “I went through the other day and just realized I don’t need these and somebody else would actually need them.”

The local shoe drive also accepts single shoes because recipients may only have one foot, she said.

Her involvement with Soles4Souls came from work as director of patient and community relations at Gaston Foot and Ankle. The office has a shoe store, and single shoes often show up as samples. Kirlin found a way to discard them while helping others.

Gazette reporter Wade Allen can be reached at 704-869-1828; twitter.com/gazettewade.